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Argentina Makes Messi Announcement Amid Inter Miami Absence

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Parker Johnson | Last updated Mar 3, 2025 8:51 AM ET

The availability of soccer superstar Lionel Messi has been the subject of intense scrutiny in recent days after the news broke that he did not travel to Texas for Inter Miami CF's second game of the 2025 MLS season against Houston Dynamo on Sunday.

The Herons were able to secure a 4-1 win over Houston without Messi thanks to a vintage Luis Suarez performance and a pair of goals from rising star Telasco Segovia.

Sources confirmed that the 37-year-old is not injured, but simply being rested by Inter Miami manager Javier Mascherano in the middle of a stretch of five games in 15 days across multiple competitions.

That intense fixture total is before you consider Messi's commitments to the Argentina National Team, which has two huge World Cup qualifiers in March immediately after the cluster of games for Inter Miami.

Just 30 minutes before kickoff of the Miami-Houston match on Sunday, Argentina made an announcement highlighting Messi's status for the matches against Uruguay and Brazil later this month.

#SelecciónMayor Prelista de convocados para la doble fecha de #Eliminatorias ante Uruguay y Brasil pic.twitter.com/p0GtQuwt8O
— Selección Argentina ⭐⭐⭐ (@Argentina) March 2, 2025

"Pre-list of those called up for the double date of Eliminatorias against Uruguay and Brazil," said the post on X, as translated by Google.

Although it was a 33-man list, which will be pared down for the matchday squads, the graphic featured Argentina's No. 10 prominently. The announcement suggested that Messi will be involved in the March international window despite the ongoing load management for his club team in MLS.

Argentina is comfortably in position to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada. La Albiceleste has a five-point cushion in first place of the South American "Eliminatorias" with 12 out of the 18 matches already played.

Argentina remain at the top of the CONMEBOL #FIFAWorldCup qualifying table.#WeAre26
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) November 20, 2024

The top six teams automatically qualify for the World Cup. Upcoming opponents Uruguay (second place, 20 points) and Brazil (fifth, 18 points) both have plenty to play for against Argentina, making Messi's presence that much more important for the defending World Cup champions.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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